Worshippers have hailed Pope Leo XIV's visit to Turkey after he held a divine liturgy with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul on Sunday in a gesture of support for Christian unity.

Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul's iconic Blue Mosque on Saturday but didn't stop to pray, as he opened an intense day of meetings and liturgies with Turkey's Christian leaders, where he again emphasized the need for Christians to be united.

Investigators detected phosphine residue not only on hotel room surfaces but also on towels, pointing to extensive environmental contamination.

Istanbul is known around the world as the city of cats, a place where felines roam freely – loved and protected by the people who share the streets, parks, cafés, and ancient monuments with them.

A Turkish-German family of four who died while on holiday in Istanbul was likely poisoned by gas from a pesticide used in their hotel.

Pope Leo XIV touched down in Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Sunday as he began a three-day visit to the nation at the heart of a Middle East battered by recent conflicts.

Pope Leo visits Istanbul's Blue Mosque and celebrates mass as he calls for peace and unity among Christians and Muslims.

Pope Leo was in Lebanon on Sunday night, the second stop on his inaugural foreign trip. Leo told reporters on his plane that the creation of a Palestinian state was the only solution to resolve the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.